McElwee earns 300th career strikeout, but Wolves fall short in series opener at Anderson, 4-3

Friday, April 6, 2012

ANDERSON, S.C. - Newberry College senior Josh McElwee earned his 300th career strikeout, but the homestanding Anderson Trojans took advantage of their few opportunities to earn a 4-3 South Atlantic Conference win in the series opener between the two sides at Memorial Stadium on Friday.

Newberry falls to 15-25 overall and 9-13 in SAC play, while Anderson is now 13-30 overall and 6-16 in the league. The teams will conclude the series with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Wolves jumped on the board in the first inning when Kevin Rufus (Andrews, S.C.) led the game off with a single, stole second and scored on consecutive groundouts to make it a 1-0 game.

Anderson had runners in scoring position after a single from Thomas Padro and a Brett Cash double in the third inning. Both would come around to score on a wild pitch and put the Trojans up 2-1.

The lead was extended on Erick Sanderson's bases loaded single and a bases loaded hit by pitch in the seventh inning.

Newberry's Albert Baur (Philadelphia, Pa.) drove in two runs when he reached on an error in the top of the eighth with two out, but the Wolves' final four batters were retired in order, allowing the Trojans to hold on to the slim win.

Newberry starter McElwee (Andrews, S.C.) falls to 4-2 on the season, allowing three runs on five hits in 6.2 innings, striking out 12 batters. He earned career strikeout No. 300 in the fifth inning when he struck out Sanderson.

Wesley Camp (Pelion, S.C.) was the only Newberry player in the game with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 in the game and reaching base three times.